Mine
by Lord Vukodlak
Summary: A story of love, family and friendship. Well not so much a story as a series of snippets into that life.
1. Chapter 1

This story was originally inspired by a writing challenge for Daria fanfiction titled "A fresh take on Veronica Morgendoffer." Originally created by author Robert Nowall Veronica, was the supposed younger sister of Daria and Quinn. The character proved such a success she's made appearances in various other Daria fanfics.

**Mine**

Jake was rummaging through the fridge when he heard a knock at the door. Putting down his half made sandwich in the fridge he went to answer. "Oh hi Jane come on it Daria's upstairs." He smiled opening the door for Daria's new friend from school.

"Thanks." Jane waved before heading upstairs.

Jake returned to the kitchen and found his sandwich wasn't on the table like he falsely remembered. "Damn those squirrels." He ranted before deciding just to eat some potato chips his half made sandwich lay forgotten in the fridge.

Opening Daria's door Jane's mouth hung open in shock at the sight before her. If she hadn't seen it with our own eyes she'd never have believed it. There was Daria cradling her baby sister Veronica in a carrier sling gently rocking her back and forth and cooing and singing to her. Given how the older Morgendorffer sisters went at one another and how Daria always seemed uncomfortable and standoffish when dealing with other kids. It was a little jarring to see her best friend doting on Veronica like this being all warm and fuzzy even towards family was such a complete one eighty from the Daria she'd come to know. Jane certainly never felt that urge towards her own nieces and nephews.

Jane watched unnoticed until the infant began fussing and pawing at Daria. "Guess you're hungry aren't you?" Daria smiled giving the baby girl a kiss on the forehead. It was then she looked up and all the color drained from her face. "Jane?" she gasped. "How long have you been standing there."

"Long enough to discover your secret." Jane grinned from ear to ear.

"My secret." She gulped.

"That you're a doting big sister!" Daria turned new shades of crimson at those words Jane couldn't help but laugh a little as Daria turned new shades of crimson, she imagined her friend felt like dying of embarrassment. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone your really a big softie"

"Thanks." Daria smiled weakly. "Would you wait here or in the living room while I feed her?" Jane nodded figuring Daria had enough of being on display it tore her up inside that she couldn't tell anyone, she didn't quite understand why Daria was so embarrassed about it. So what if everyone knew Daria was this doting big sister, Jane supposed Daria didn't want anyone to know that deep down she was a big softy.

Daria quickly left down the hall Veronica in her arms and barged right into her sister's room. "HEY!" Quinn yelled looking up from doing her nails.

"Jane dropped by unexpectedly and I…" Daria hated lying to Jane but she couldn't bear to tell anyone the truth they had to leave Highland because of it.

"Say no more." Quinn shrugged putting on a sleep-mask and returning to doing her nails. Daria had to admit it was rather impressive she could do that blindfolded.

"Thanks." She breathed sitting down in a nearby chair. With one deft hand Daria unzipped her jacket and opened her shirt while the other guided Veronica to her breast. She let out a contented sigh once Veronica began to nurse. No matter the circumstances of her conception Veronica was her daughter. But that didn't matter to the kids back in Highland. She was called a slut, a whore and all manner of horrible things after ending up pregnant. It didn't matter to them that she was attacked somehow it was her fault. Because of who _he_ was they couldn't believe it happened against her will. Quinn to her credit was even suspended for decking one of the girls giving Daria a hard time. Finishing high school in Highland would have proven impossible so when Helen was offered a job at a law firm in Lawndale they moved right after the trial concluded. Veronica was born just a couple months before the start of school.

The secret was well kept aside from family (and a few select teachers under threat of lawsuit) everyone else thought Veronica was Daria's little sister.

The original plan had been for Helen and Jake to act both officially and unofficially as Veronica's parents with Daria truly stepping into the role of big sister. But when she was born and Daria looked down at her daughter she knew Veronica was hers and she just couldn't let go.

**This series will not be chronological order it's a series of drabbles taking place within the same universe so expect a lot of jumping around in time. There is also no definitive end or final chapter for his story either.  
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	2. Chapter 2

_This chapter would likely take place when Veronica is six months old which is probably sometime around the end of season one or the beginning of season two._

It started as just another weekend in Lawndale Daria was gentling singing a lullaby while Veronica nursed. Early in her pregnancy she never would have imagined that she'd embrace doing this with her. Bottles and formula the whole way she figured but like many plants the family had they all fell away once Veronica was born. This tender moment was shattered by the sound of two soda cans hitting the floor and a shriek of.

"OH MY GOD!" Their Jane stood mouth agape, the two cans of soda rolling on the floor. It had started out as such a normal day for Jane too. She got up took a shower had breakfast if you could call eating at eleven o'clock breakfast. After that she headed over to Daria's to hangout and maybe get some help with her math homework. In fact the only unusual thing that happened today up until this moment was finding a moldy old sandwich in the back of the Morgendorffer's fridge when she was getting the sodas.

Finding Daria's door closed wasn't unexpected Jane guessed her friend was probably spending time with Veronica she was about to knock but upon hearing Daria softly singing a lullaby Jane had to see this with her own eyes. Although Daria had become a little more open to Jane watching her cradle, soothe and otherwise dote on Veronica. Jane had yet to witness her friend singing… to anyone. In fact Daria happily singing was near the top of the list of things she'd never imagined her best friend doing. Opening the door the first thing Jane noticed was Daria cradling Veronica with her shirt wide open. Now that didn't seem weird to Jane holding a baby half dressed was a hallmark of the Lane family. But seeing Daria apparently nursing her [i]little sister[/i] was a little much to handle.

"Jane…" Daria looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. There it was she was busted, any plans she may have had to work up the nerve to tell Jane the truth on her own terms were out the window.

"I… I should go." Jane turned to go but was stopped by Daria's plea.

"Wait Jane I can explain!"

"Explain what? I walked in and saw you breastfeeding your sister I don't even know how to begin too…" she gripped her head trying to shake the image from her mind.

"She's not my sister!" Daria cut in before Jane could finish. "She's my daughter."

"Oh I get it now!" Jane laughed. "Your pulling my leg you heard me coming up the stairs that's really some doll isn't it." Daria rolled her eyes and pulled Veronica away so Jane could see her clearly. "Daria! You're a mom I'd never have imagined…" Jane took a seat next to Daria on the bed and let everything sink in as Daria resumed nursing Veronica. "So telling everyone that Veronica was your little sister was just a cover?"

"Highland… was hell. I got hassled constantly during my pregnancy, they called me all kinds of names so the family decided it'd be easier for me if everyone thought Veronica was my little sister…."

"But at home…."

"I'm her mom" she smiled stroking her daughter's hair. "That wasn't the plan at first, originally she was going to be raised as my little sister but after holding her in my arms for the first time I just couldn't let go."

"Whose the father?" Jane asked trying to picture the man. "No offense Daria but I can't even picture you making out anyone… ever."

"He's serving ten to fifteen years back in Texas." Daria spat. Whenever her mind drifted back of that horrible night Daria took comfort in the knowledge the man was imprisoned

"Oh." Jane realized the implicated. "I'm sorry…" The idea that someone had hurt Daria like that made the anger boil in the pit of Jane's stomach. She couldn't imagine going through what Daria must have gone through she held back any more questions. If her friend wanted to share the details she would Jane wouldn't pry.

"Its ok I'm over it." Daria wasn't sure if that was a lie or a truth. But maybe if she said it enough times she'd believe it. "I just wish that bastard had kept resisting arrest so Officer Jack could have to used lethal force. But oh-no the ass gets his gun shot out of his hand and he surrenders right away."

"Officer Jack?"

"He's the Texas Ranger who led the investigation."

"You mean like Walker Texas Ranger? Do they really dress like modern cowboys?"

"No" Daria laughed. "But their dress code does require some western wear, including the hat and the boots."

"So when did you plan on telling me about Veronica…. The truth I mean."

"Never." Daria admitted plainly.

"Never? Don't you trust me?" Jane felt a little hurt.

"Maybe not never but they persecuted me at my old school and I couldn't bare to lose my only friend. I can handle being a social outcast… right now I'm nearly invisible but if word got out…. I couldn't risk suffering through that again."

"Alright" Jane admitted putting a supportive arm around her. "I guess that makes sense…. But I'm not like that even if you'd gotten pregnant from being a crazy party girl I'd still be your friend"

"Thank you… I'm sorry for not trusting you sooner." They sat in silence for a few minutes Daria's attention seemed to have returned to her daughter. Now that Jane thought about it the resemblance was uncanny she should have seen that Veronica was Daria's kid sooner.

"Wait a second." Jane growled. "Is this the reason Quinn pretends you're her cousin?" It never really bothered Jane before that Quinn denied being Daria's sister but now she was thinking about hurling a couple paint balloons her way and or shaving Quinn's head while she slept.

"No she's been doing that for years… she's actually been good about helping me when she can babysitting running interference to keep you from knowing."

"Well now that I know, you and I can do things together with her, she should get to know her [i]auntie[/i] Jane better."

"Auntie?"

"Of course the mothers best friend is always called auntie."

"I'd like that." Daria smiled. Veronica just gurgled her desire to switch to the other breast.


	3. Chapter 3

Remember when I said not to expect much chronology and we'd be jumping around in time? Well this entry would take place towards the end of the final season.

**Mine #3**

Tom and Daria were sitting on the living room sofa; Daria was reading her macroeconomics textbook while Tom was reading a _Critique of Pure Reason_. Veronica was siting between them in her PJ's with a copy of _Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots._

"God this is dull so much for my childhood dream of becoming a supply side economist." She closes the book and puts an arm around Veronica who cuddles up with her still engrossed with her own book.

"At least you're not reading Kant. This guy gives dry, ponderous intellectuals a bad name" Tom closes his own book just as Quinn storms into the room.

"Speaking of intellectuals..." Daria sighed. Quinn then entered ranting about her horrible date and how unfashionable and selfish he was. It took less then a minute for them to decide to vacate the room.

"Wait where are you going?" Quinn whined.

"To put Veronica to bed." Daria shrugged taking the girl in question into her arms.

"But you can't go!" she wailed, making Veronica cover both her ears. "I really need someone to talk to and all the normal people are out on dates."

"Ah, well, you wouldn't want to barge in on someone's date." Daria glared daggers at her sister hoping she'd see the irony. Sure it wasn't much of a date until they put Veronica to dead but that was beside the point.

"Exactly!" Quinn pulled out her phone to call Tiffany as Daria carried Veronica up to her room with Tom in tow.

As Daria gently tucked her into bed Veronica let out a huge yawn. "Haigha" she muttered reaching for her beloved stuffed rabbit sitting on the dresser. She smiled at Tom as he passed it to her. The little girl squeezed the stuffed rabbit as ahrd as she could before quickly nodding off.

"Good night sweetie." Daria whispered kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams."

Leaving the sleeping toddler behind the couple went to Daria's room to continue their study date. Between school and motherhood Daria didn't have as much time for more traditional teenage dating, as either of them would have liked so they made time where they could. They spent the next couple hours lounging around studying taking the odd note here and there and contemplating a _study break _when loud music starts emanating from down the hall

"What is that?!" Tom exclaimed.

"Either a traveling band of eunuchs, or Quinn with a death wish." Daria stomped down the hall to her sister's room. Barging in without so much as a knock she snatched the radio off the bureau. "I just put Veronica to bed you twit!" she hissed before stomping out radio in hand. Quinn just shrugged and pulled out a pair of headphones and a CD player. Any hope Daria had that Veronica wasn't woken by that racket was dashed when she returned to find Veronica on her bed next to Tom holding up a book. Rather then try and figure out how her daughter moved so quickly Daria smiled and sat down beside them. Veronica crawled into her lap and Tom put an arm round her shoulder and they read her the story together.

Around 1:00am Helen awoke feeling thirsty she headed towards the kitchen for some ice water she noticed Veronica's door was open. Peering in she saw no one. "She must be with Daria." Helen muttered walking down to her eldest daughters room. When she looked inside her breath caught in her throat. She saw her daughter and Tom lying in bed thankfully fully clothed with Veronica cuddled up contently between them "At least I can be sure nothing happened." Helen then went to her bedroom to retrieve her Polaroid camera there was NO way she'd pass up capturing this moment.

Sometime later a bleary eyed Tom opened his eyes. "Uh oh." looking at the clock he instantly shot upward when he saw the time was just past four in the morning.. He turned to see the two girls were still sound asleep. It was weird dating a girl with a kid, especially at his age most guys would head for the hills and honestly he nearly did when he found out but what kind of heel would that have made him? He didn't know what the future held if they'd break up or if one day he'd be this little girls daddy for now he'd just take the relationship one day at a time. None of them needed that kind of pressure.

Deciding to let her sleep Tom gently eased him out of bed and made his way towards the door. He winced as it creaked open. Somehow sneaking out t four in the mourning made it seem ten times louder then it actually was. Slipping out the door he decided on a quick detour. He tiptoed to Veronica's room where he grabbed the little girls blanket and stuffed rabbit. Tiptoeing back he gently draped the blanket over them both. Before making his final exit he kissed Daria's cheek and set the stuffed rabbit Haigha down in Veronica's arms.

When Tom reached the front door the color drained from his face, there was a Polaroid of him and the girls asleep on Daria's bed along with a note. _We'll talk at breakfast. —Helen. _Tom let out a long sigh that message told him he'd be in ever deeper trouble if he tried to slip out. Returning to Daria's room he laid back down with Veronica between them. Try as he might he couldn't get back to sleep he didn't know what Helen was planning but he imagined it be brutal.


	4. Chapter 4

Mine

This chapter would take place towards the end "Is It Fall Yet." And some months before the previously uploaded chapter

Daria was pacing back and forth in her room debating whether or not to tell him. She'd been seeing Tom all summer and her mother suggested that maybe it was time to let Tom know the truth about Veronica before things got to serious. She looked to Veronica who was happily playing with her blocks trying to shove a square peg into a round hole on her shape-sorting clock. Her daughter had decided that the block's refusal to bend to her will had become personal and it was now her against the block and she was damned if it was going to win.

"Go in! Go in!" she shouted trying to hammer the block into place., Daria just smiled at her little girl tried to force the impossible and went back to her own turmoils.

Daria recalled the fight she and Tom had just before he left for the Cove. She'd been agonizing about how she and Veronica might fit into his world. The way he seemed to hide her away from his family didn't bode well for her prospects once he learned that Veronica was really her daughter not her baby-sister.

—

"Well, at least you can be confident your mother's not addicted to sedatives." He shrugged as they headed for his car.

"Hey, she didn't ask to be invited to that stupid fund-raiser." She snapped back at him

"My mother was just trying to be nice. A lot of people like going to those things."

"

Sure. Helping the little people while avoiding contact with them at all cost."

"Um, is something wrong?"

"No."

"Come on. I had to beg you to come out tonight, and then the first thing you do is jump down my throat. What's going on?"

"I don't know. It's the museum and the country club and your family. You know, your whole elitist world." She practically screamed at him.

"It's not elitist. And it's not my world."

"Don't tell me. Tell Aunt Mildred tomorrow and be sure not to mention me to her, okay! It's obvious you don't want me mixing with your family, since you didn't ask me to the fund-raiser or the fireworks display." If he didn't want her mixing with his family now he'd head straight for the hills if he learned about Veronica.

"I didn't invite you to those things because I sure as hell didn't want to go and I assumed you wouldn't either. I don't see you inviting me to socialize with your family. I thought we were both trying to keep our families out of our dating lives."

"Well, you still should have asked!" He was right of course well about the fund-raiser. Veronica probably would like the fireworks so long as they muffled the sound with some earmuffs but bringing her along might have required telling his whole family about Veronica.

"You're right." He admitted.

"Unless you just assumed your parents were gonna hate me."

"What? What are you talking about? My parents think you're great. They know you're really smart and headed for college and stuff. It's not like you're Jane." Then they started arguing about Jane while Tom tried to correct himself.[I'm not going to retype that whole sequence from Is it Fall Yet]

"You attack my mother for inviting your parents to the fund-raiser, then attack me for not inviting you. You say my family disapproves of you, I say they relate to you better than Jane, and now I'm a snob. "

"Forgive me for being a loyal friend."

"Why don't you say what you're really afraid of? The idea that you might actually start caring about someone. 'Cause that would make you vulnerable." Tom yelled.

—

The damning thing was he was right well he was half right. She felt venerable, for so long the idea of dating and kissing a boy felt impossible but now here was a handsome smart young man who liked her. Despite her best efforts to forget about Tom no one would letup about it. Everyone she knew seemed to say they made a good couple, Jodie, Quinn, Trent even Jane. So in the end she decided to give it another shot but there was just one tiny problem. She picked up her daughter who quickly forgot about forcing the square peg into the round hole in order to cuddle up with her.

When Tom accused her of keeping him away from her family he was right but for the wrong reasons. Veronica was two years old now and it'd be hard to explain her little sister calling her mommy. So she kept Tom away from the house because if he started coming over to hang out with her here there was no avoiding him finding out. She tried that with Jane and that failed spectacularly and that was before Veronica could talk, hell Stacy managed to figure out the truth and Daria hardly spent anytime with the girl before hand. The only reason Sandi and Tiffany didn't know was they were too self-absorbed and dim-witted respectively to take notice plus Quinn and Stacy were great at running interference. She set Veronica down who scampered off to her toys.

So what could she do? Keep going out with Tom while keeping him away from the house? He wasn't stupid; he already seemed to suspect she was hiding something and sooner or later he might put two and two together. She didn't invite him to hang out at her house, she didn't get upset when her mother called during there dates to check in. (Because Helen was actually letting Daria check in on Veronica). Then of course she liked to be home early enough to put Veronica to bed herself; which made a rather suspicious hiccup in their evenings and Daria was running out of excuses. So it seemed that keeping this secret would doom their relationship anyway.

But did that mean she should tell him this soon? Daria knew she'd have to be extra careful because of Veronica. One the worst possible things would be for her daughter to get attached to Tom only for them to break up later on. She'd also have to fight that part of her brain that seemed to evaluate a man based entirely on their potential as a daddy she didn't want to force the relationship either because Veronica liked him. She recalled the time when Veronica was about ten months old and they were taking a trip to the park and happened to run into Upchuck. He was flying his remote controlled plane but stopped for a minute to coo and make faces sending the little girl into a fit of laughter. For a moment Daria could have sworn his faced morphed into John Stamos… so she was nervous what kind of effect Veronica liking Tom would have. But she was getting ahead of herself. Tom finding out about Veronica and the two being introduced were different subjects. She'd tell Tom and then in a few months she'd think about them meeting. Gathering up all her courage Daria was determined to tell him the truth to night. She greeted Tom at the door a half and hour later with a brief kiss before she invited him inside to sit down on the couch.

"Tom I have something important to tell you…" She took a deep breath and tried to still her rapidly beating heart.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes… no… maybe." God she felt so stupid why couldn't she just spit it out.

"Listen Daria if it's to uncomfortable to talk about it can wait…"

"No it can't wait." Daria resisted the urge to seize the out Tom was offering her. She couldn't put this off any longer. "Its about Veronica… she isn't really my little sister…. She's my daughter." Tom's face was blank and his breath was clearly caught in his throat. It felt like forever before Tom finally responded.

"Daria… I don't know what to say…" Tom looked downcast at the floor. Daria held her breath as her heart caught in her throat. "But I already knew that…"

"You WHAT!?"

To be Continued.


	5. Chapter 5

"What do you mean you already know!?" Daria was torn part of her was furious that Tom knew her deep dark secret but another part was relieved because he was still here. But mostly she wanted to know how the hell he found out. Who could have told him? Her mind race as she considered the suspects. Her mother didn't make any since; she'd just been telling her it might be about time to tell Tom the truth anyways. Helen had been over the moon when she started dating Tom, even the whole kiss incident made her mother break down and cry out of happiness. It was such a perfectly normal stupid teenager thing to do she took it as a sign her daughter wasn't as alienated as she appeared to be. So she wouldn't risk her daughter's relationship by spilling the beans herself.

Her father seemed equally unlikely, although Daria sometimes feared her father might slip up and say something by accident he'd have confessed to her out of guilt right away that same logic applied to Stacy so she was out too. Quinn didn't make since either, she'd have no reason to tell Tom and she was almost as afraid of the school finding out the truth as she was. Popularity and status were everything to Quinn and she lost all of that back in Highland after Daria ended up pregnant. It didn't help that she decked the captain of the cheer squad for giving Daria a hard time.

"Was it Jane…" Daria squeaked. After _The Kiss _incident, Dari had nightmares that Jane would get revenge by telling Tom and everyone at school she was a teenage mother and once again she'd become a social pariah and not the kind where she was ignored Daria liked that kind of status but the kind that faced ridicule and harassment.

"No it wasn't Jane." Tom assured her.

"Then who was it, my parents? Quinn? Stacy? How did you find out!"

"No it wasn't any of them." Tom was waiting for Daria to stop hyperventilating so he could tell her what happened but it seemed it might be a long wait. _'So who could it be?'_ Daria thought gripped her now aching head. If she found out Sandi would certainly tell Tom in an effort to break them up. On more then one occasion she'd overheard the fashion club president loudly complaining that a handsome rich guy like Tom didn't belong with a brain like her. And admittedly it gave Daria a sense of smug self-satisfaction to throw the relationship in Sandi's face. But even if Sandi somehow discovered the truth she'd have spread it all over school unless… she lied… could Sandi have been trying to break her and Tom up and be sheer coincidence told a lie that happened to be true?

"Daria please sit down…" Tom gently patted the space on the couch next to him.

She silently obliged and sat down next to him but a few inches apart she had a feeling when this story was over she'd be furious with him. "Now it all starte…"

—

The Sloane's had just arrived at the Cove, and Tom was busy unpacking his clothes for the month long stay.

"Tom could you join me in the library for a minute." He heard his father's voice call down the hall.

"Oh-uh." Tom muttered this meant either a lecture, a _discussion_ about some up coming family responsibility he had to up hold. Or he had to play checkers with his uncle Ryan…. or somebody died. In any event being told '_could you join ne in the library for a minute' _was never about good news. Leaving his unpacking only half done he made his way to the library where his father was drinking half a class of scotch also not a good sign.

"Tom I'm not sure where to begin…."

"Here we go." The young Sloane muttered.

"But whenever you date a girl more then a few weeks, your mother and I run a background check on her…"

"You what!?" Tom's mood immediately switched from dread to hostile. He considered ending this conversation now by telling his father that he and Daria had a huge fight the day before and probably wouldn't be together when they got back but he had to know what had his father so flustered.

—

"He what!?" Daria was furious how could they do that. She'd always suspected his family wouldn't accept her now this just proved it. The irony that she'd been keeping her daughter a secret was lost on her.

"I know I know it's a horribly betrayal of trust but please let me finish the story." Tom did not want this to devolve into another fight hopefully she'd be less angry when the story was over.

—

"Nothing ever came up before that I considered worth mentioning until now… You said before that Daria had a baby sister Veronica she was rather close to…"

"Yeah…" Tom had no clue where he was going with this.

"Well you know the deal with your _uncle _Ethan…." Angier empathized the word uncle.

"Yeah he's really my cousin, Aunt Sally got pregnant at fifteen and he was raised as her younger broth…. Oh lord you mean that Veronica is…." Tom just about collapsed from the news.

"I don't know how the Morgendorffers are handling this maybe their doing the same thing Sally did and Veronica is for all intensive purposes being raised to be Daria's little sister… but you should be aware that your possibly dating a single mother."

"Well the latter would certainly explain a few things, like why Daria doesn't let me in her house to often, I just thought she was embarrassed by her parents." Tom collapsed into a nearby chair trying to absorb everything he'd been told.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't date her or that she isn't right for our family what I am telling you is this if information you need to know and you need to deal with." Angier put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder before leaving him alone with her thoughts.

—

"So I spent the whole month at the Cove trying to coming to grips with that." Tom waited with baited breath for Daria to respond. He was expecting her to explode in white-hot rage but she sat there in silence, which oddly felt a whole lot worse. For her part Daria was unsure of how to feel, a part of her felt violated that Angier had run a background check on her other hand she was relieved that Tom's parents didn't object to her. She decided to call it a wash and forgive the background check either because they accepted her despite being a single teenaged mother. Or since becoming a mother herself she honestly couldn't say that when Veronica was old enough to date that she wouldn't be tempted to do background checks on whatever boy she brought home.

"Tom you should know… Veronica is my daughter in every sense of the word she isn't being raised as my little sister that's just cover for school to spare me the persecution I suffered in Highland. And don't worry I'm not looking to find Veronica a daddy anytime soon." Now it was Daria's turn waiting to see if Tom would excuse himself or simply bolt.

"I suspect as much, it explains quite a lot." Tom had a sinking suspicion he already knew the answer to this.

"Like what?"

"How you're always talking about her, in a good way unlike Quinn and her fashion obsession, then Jane has all those pictures of you and Veronica together smiling. Or how when your mother called to check in on our dates you seemed happy about it. I more then once I heard Veronica mentioned over the line." The more Tom thought about it the more he realized all the little signs and clues he missed.

"So much for my masterful plan to leave no evidence of the truth."

"If I may ask… where's Veronica's father? Was he the guy who?" Tom was hesitant to ask already having an idea who it was.

"He's same man I told you about before… back in Highland who…" Daria fought back the tears forming in her eyes and leaned into Tom's embrace. She recalled the day she was compelled to tell Tom about her assault. They'd been dating a few weeks and were in the park enjoying one of early make out intensive kissing sessions, when Daria suffered flashback to the night of her assault. In her panic she grabbed the nearest object she could find and cracked it over Tom's head. Thankfully it was only a large pinecone and not the nearby rock still he was understandably upset and demanded to know why Daria simply didn't tell him to stop. Her first instinct had been to apologize and make up some flimsy excuse but Daria realized that wouldn't workout. So she told him about that horrible night and warned him she might have more flashbacks in the future but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy kissing him. On their following date Tom brought one of those 1930's style leather football helmets, which Daria promptly stole to playfully smack him with.

"Alright enough of this." Daria declared trying to perk up, well as much as she was capable of perking up. "Quinn's watching Veronica its not even five yet, I want pizza, soda and a mind numbing movie!"

"Battlefield earth?"

"Mind numbing not ritual torture."

"I'll think of something…." Tom offered her his arm, which Daria accepted, and together they left for their date.


End file.
